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10 Oct 2013

The Securities and Exchange Commission will not pursue action against embattled Rebecca producers Ben Sprecher and Louise Forlenza, according to a report in the New York Times.

The S.E.C.'s decision follows a full investigation, which involved "countless documents being turned over about how the Rebecca producers conducted their business," the Times reports.

Sprecher and Forlenza are now hoping for a fall 2014 Broadway arrival for Rebecca. As previously reported, Thomas Drozda of VBW has extended Sprecher's window into 2014 to raise the capital necessary to produce Rebecca on Broadway.

The producers are hopeful that the S.E.C.'s decision to clear them from wrongdoing will encourage investors to provide the remaining $5 million needed for Rebecca's $16 million Broadway capital.

In 2008 Sprecher and Forlenza announced a 2010 targeted Broadway premiere for the dark pop musical. Rebecca found itself in peril last fall when Sprecher, who believed capitalization was complete, pulled the trigger on the start of set and costume construction. It was later discovered that Long Island businessman Mark C. Hotton had fabricated the name of an investor who pledged the final $4.5 million for the production.

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In July, Hotton pleaded guilty to two counts of defraud, one involving Rebecca and another separate plot to defraud a Connecticut real estate company. Hotton also faces charges in another, separate money laundering case.

Rebecca has original book and lyrics by Michael Kunze, music by Sylvester Levay, English book adaptation by two-time Tony Award winner Christopher Hampton (Sunset Boulevard) and English lyrics by Hampton and Kunze.